Muzzle brakes, categorically, are seen as being incompatible with combat, as they are often criticized as causing more problems than they solve. To define terms, muzzle brakes are muzzle devices that are affixed to the end of a firearm's muzzle for the primary purpose of reducing recoil. The term “compensator” is often used synonymously. Regardless, muzzle brakes and compensators feature very conventional designs that branch off very little from two main archetypes. One of the quintessential designs is an open, multi-baffle design featuring one or more surfaces that allow expanding gases to strike, thereby imparting an indirect, somewhat angled counter-recoil force. Most gases exit this type of design laterally outward to the sides of the compensator and strike the cooler air of the outside atmosphere all at once, causing a bright flash and concussion felt by the shooter and those nearby. These designs often vary in the number of baffle chambers or in the tolerance allowed for each bullet to pass through during its flight, but they work under the same design principles. Designs featuring upward-facing ports demonstrate another design architype. These devices utilize jets of expanding gases firing upward to produce a force to counteract the upward movement of the muzzle. The result is lessened muzzle rise but also a blinding flash appearing directly in the shooter's immediate field of view. Both types of designs allow gases to expand into ports or open baffle chambers and do nothing to bend or substantially alter the primary, forward trajectory of the gases from a gunshot. In short, they leverage the property of expansion alone.